Chocolates and flowers, stuffed teddy bears and edible arrangements — Valentine’s Day is a holiday that regularly divides the nation, year after year. Some couples love it, some singles abhor it, but at the end of the day, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love. Whether you plan a romantic candlelit dinner with your significant other, a night in of takeout & a movie, or fun night on the town with your girlfriends — celebrating Valentine’s Day can be as grand or as simple as you choose.
The following is a sampling of great, memorable Valentine’s Day experiences, as told by JohnHart agents and staff. Enjoy!
1. Nena Hill
February 14, 1999- It was our second year participating in the community blood drive on Valentine’s Day. My two sisters and I went to donate blood at our local blood bank. We went to church after and I suddenly felt light-headed during the middle of the service. The next thing I know I was in a room with a man and my sisters around me. I happened to be sitting next to a physician who helped me back to consciousness!
He asked me, “Why do you have a band-aid on your arm?” I told him that my sisters and I donated blood an hour ago. He advised me to come to his office clinic a few miles away. That afternoon, I found out I was 4 weeks pregnant with my eldest boy! It was a scary moment and my life changed ever since, BUT he is a very handsome one ❤.
2. Lindsey Wallace
Each Valentine’s Day, single or taken, I always know I have one thing I can look forward to. As long as I can remember, my dad (father of three daughters) has hand-written a Valentine’s Day card for each one of us. Sometimes they are funny, other times sappy and sentimental. No matter the contents, it truly is the thought that counts. Each year I always know I’ll feel loved and appreciated on this day by the first man in my life, my Dad. For this reason, I always look forward to February 14th! I can’t wait to see what he comes up with this year.
3. Fanette Stern
When I was a young girl, around the impressionable age of 11, my father had just completed his last round of radiation therapy for his 2nd bout of prostate cancer. February is a special month not just because of a leap year every 4 years or Valentine’s Day but because of that particular February was when my father was given the all-clear: that he was cancer-free.
Officially at the beginning of the remission phase! My father is an interesting sort of Renaissance man in that when he has good news he does something small as a prelude to announcing his news, as if it were appetizers for a delicious meal.
On this special Valentine’s Day, he stopped at Rite-Aid for general hygiene products but came home with a dash extra: one small elephant with a red rose in its trunk, one adorable duck with a rose in its bill, and a blushing hedgehog clutching a large red rose. Notice a pattern? As a little girl, I did too. The elephant is for my mother because it’s her favorite animal, the duck was for my sister because ‘duck’ was her very first word, and the hedgehog was for me because…well, he’s adorable. My father announced the good news after distributing the Valentine’s plush toys and there an abundance of joy within our household.
Roses, unfortunately, wither and dry after being clipped and displayed in a vase, and candy becomes stale and causes stomach aches. However, my little hedgehog, who’s named Harold (in case you were wondering), has lasted over a decade and is proudly displayed on my windowsill every February.
4. Catherine Grigorian
When I was 7 years old, my 2nd-grade class had a Valentine’s gram day. Everyone was instructed to bring your own arts and crafts (BYOAandC) and make a gram box, so your classmates could slip in a gram.
For some reason, I was being a bully on Valentine’s Day to most boys (because obviously boys have cooties) and I started making fun of a boy for having a shiny pink box (shame on me). I started laughing and pointing at him — and he started to cry. He ran up to the teacher, told on me, and she was so furious that she immediately sent me to the principal’s office.
I lost the chance to make my gram box, and when I got home I was in big, big, BIG trouble. I was grounded for being sent to the principal’s office. Valentines Day? More like Galentine’s Day. The next day at school I told that little boy “I hate You” (7-year-old sassiness tone). But that was a long time ago. Valentine’s Day today is like any other day for me. I feel love for my family, closest friends, and colleagues every day. It’s like my dad always says: “Why celebrate just one day of the year when it should be every day?”
5. Patricia Sarkisyan
Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. It all started in 2nd grade when we made little mailboxes out of brown lunch bags- I decked mine out in glitter and pink.
February 14th arrived and my ‘mailbox’ was filled with Valentine cards of Power Rangers, Rugrats, Rocco’s Modern Life, Mickey Mouse, and Lion King. I proudly showed my parents, but my dad was not amused one bit. I later found out he didn’t think it was necessary for the boys in the class to give me cards with hearts on them lol. Fast forward two decades and Valentine’s Day still gives me the same joy and feels that it did in my childhood. Spread love every day…but this is a day completely dedicated to it.
6. Aimee Hernandez
My now-husband and I were only dating for a month and a half when Valentine’s Day rolled around. In the past, we had a discussion about my favorite flavors of candy and my disliked flavors. I’m very picky and I don’t like anything orange, watermelon, or peach. I guess he was half-listening because on Valentine’s Day he had a trail of candy to his bed with candles and wine. I didn’t have the heart to tell him for a few days that he used ONLY the flavors I hate (haha!) At least he kept all the good ones for me, too.
7. Izabell Manukyan
Being single for the past 13 years, I celebrate Valentine’s Day with my single friends at my house. This first started when we were together and decided Valentine’s Day is not a fair day for the singles. About 7 years ago I hosted my very first singles party on February 14th at my house. 10 of my singles friends came by, each of them with their favorite dish — while I played hostess while providing wine & cheese.
My singles party is not open to married couples. Lately, my party has grown from the early days into 20-25 people!
Contributor, designer & admin for JohnHart Gazette.
